5. Inapolku

On 1st January 1960, Rovaniemi was proclaimed a city from the balcony of the Town House, designed by architect Ferdinand Salokangas. City rights were being granted again after a break of more than half a century. Rovaniemi had obtained market town rights in 1929. Salokangas directed the reconstruction of Lapland between 1945 and 1948. There are 17 buildings designed by him in the city, easy to spot due to their original style. The Town House, considered the architect’s main work, is nowadays privately owned. Salokangas also designed the building in Inapolku 3 on the bank of the Kemijoki River. The river can be seen from every apartment in the building.

The Town House, designed by architect Ferdinand Salokangas

On 1th January 1960, Rovaniemi was proclaimed a city from the
balcony of the Town House

You can see the tower blocks designed by architect Markus Tavio in 1954 as apartments for the personnel of the Children’s Hospital among the pine trees on the other side of the river. With the colours of the roofs of the three blocks, the architect aspired to represent the four colours of Lapland, with the fourth colour being the green of the pine forest!

The 3 tower blocks: yellow, blue and red

The Ounasvaara Hill, which rises from the opposite river bank, is the highest and oldest place in the immediate surroundings. About 9,000 years ago, Ounasvaara was a small island in the Ancylus Lake, a large post-glacial body of fresh water. Land uplift and rapid shore-level displacement made the return of flora and fauna and the arrival of humans to the area possible. Afterwards, Ounasvaara has been the venue for midsummer parties and sporting events, and is now an important source of recreation for both locals and visitors. In fact, it offers a lot of different possibilities for exercise and outdoor activities.